Astros lock up the series win against the Angels
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 5-2 win
Aug 24, 2019, 9:13 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Houston was able to hold on and take the series opener against the Angels on Friday night, so they turned their attention to locking up the series with a win on Saturday night. Here is a quick rundown of the middle game:
Final Score: Astros 5, Angels 2.
Record: 84-47, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Wade Miley (13-4, 3.13 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Dillon Peters (3-2, 4.50 ERA).
1) Astros score five early on two homers
Houston's offense went right after Dillon Peters in the bottom of the first inning. Jose Altuve reached base on a one-out triple, then scored on a two-run homer by Michael Brantley in the next at-bat to make it a quick 2-0 Astros lead.
In the bottom of the third, Altuve made it back-to-back hits with a leadoff double, then Michael Brantley was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Alex Bregman took advantage, powering the second homer of the night to extend the lead to 5-0.
All white top, all white belt. 🥛 pic.twitter.com/QjZGiso3W4
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 25, 2019
2) Miley goes five innings
Wade Miley meanwhile was able to record another decent outing. He retired the first nine batters he faced in order, and did not allow a hit until the top of the fourth when he gave up a leadoff single, but would still get through the inning scoreless.
Miley's first and only run allowed came in the top of the fifth, a two-out solo home run to make it a 5-1 score. He would struggle to get that last out of the inning, loading the bases with a couple of singles and a walk, but was eventually able to get out of it and strand the bases loaded.
After the long fifth inning and his pitch count rising, A.J. Hinch did not task him with going any further than the five innings of one-run baseball he provided. His final line: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR.
3) Houston secures the series win
With Miley shut down after his five innings, it was up to Houston's bullpen to finish the last four innings. Brad Peacock was first up, and struggled with the zone and only recorded one out before Houston moved on to Chris Devenski, who was able to finish the top of the sixth.
Joe Smith had the seventh, and despite allowing a leadoff walk which would score on an RBI-single later in the inning, was able to get through the inning with Houston still ahead 5-2. Collin McHugh took over on the mound in the eighth and was able to erase two walks to maintain the lead.
With Roberto Osuna's usage high over the last few games, he was given a break and instead Will Harris had the chance for a save. Harris was able to take advantage, throwing a scoreless frame to wrap up the 5-2 win and give Houston the series victory.
Up Next: The Astros and Angels will wrap up this series on Sunday with an afternoon start of 1:10 PM. Los Angeles is expected to send Jaime Barria (4-6, 6.35 ERA) to the mound while Houston announced that they would bring Framber Valdez (3-6, 5.58 ERA) back into the rotation to fill the spot of Aaron Sanchez who is on the injured list, at least for his next two starts.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.